Confronting the Pandemic – Part 1

Well, I would ask you to pray
for me even as I prepare to open this passage, because I want
you to know I really did purpose to wrap up the Epistle of James
this morning. Given that it’s our time at the
Lord’s table, I will find myself rushing and so I would just pray
that you would Pray or ask you to pray that God would provide
me a convenient place to cut it off if I need to and We would
take up this particular passage next Lord’s Day if if need be
We are in James chapter 5 James chapter 5 We have come to the
end of the book And so as we are brought to the end of this
incredible book of the Word of God, we have found James pouring
out his heart, not only to his church in his day, but he has
done so for every believer throughout history. A living appeal to every
believer to examine his or her faith, to search diligently for
the precious fruit of righteousness, and as such is found lacking,
the plea is to turn again to Christ for repentance and salvation. And so as we draw to these last
two verses, we have to pause to determine the precise connection
of these verses. They could well be a fitting
conclusion to the entire epistle. They very well fit with the words
immediately preceding. It’s enough to rest on that certainty
that they’re both and. James has, after all, been carefully
leading believers on an examination of their own lives, of their
faith. that it’s not only an ascent
of the will, but that that faith is working itself out in everyday
life. He did that for his own beloved
church and all who would follow in faith down through the centuries,
that they would be drawn and led to a life that truly glorifies
the Lord Jesus. And the immediate connection
with verses 13 through 18 of this particular chapter or particular
section is fine too. The picture of the loving, caring,
praying saints there in verses 13 through 18, culminating one
of the most delicate of all practices in the Christian life, that of
confronting a brother in sin. There in verses 13 through 18,
the saints are engaged in what we discovered to be a multifaceted
prayer, prayer in a variety of shapes, circumstantial prayer,
intercessory prayer, confessional prayer, perseverant prayer. The
themes of sin and confession are woven throughout intercessory
prayer, masterfully brought in. It is as if James pulls back the
curtains. to expose the inner workings
of that very delicate process. The gentle confrontation of a
brother in sin, which leads to a concert of confessional prayer,
as we saw. In that particular sense, this
situation that James addresses now in these verses is worse
even than in verses 14 and 15. There, the sick man seemingly
moves almost effortlessly into confession. He recognizes his
need. And he makes the appropriate
call to the elders, and he received the needed help. But here in
verses 19 and 20, the man does not recognize his need. He is
not eager for assistance. He must be confronted. He must
hear a brotherly appeal for his soul. In these concluding verses,
this individual doesn’t even recognize how precarious is his
situation. He seems oblivious, altogether
unaware of his condition. As one faithful pastor put it,
there is the common case of those who either do not feel or if
they do feel, do not confess that their souls are sick unto
death. There are many who have left
the path of life and are going steadily and perhaps rapidly
to destruction who are ignorant of their piteous condition. Well,
all that to say, that verses 19 and 20 of James chapter five
are both a fitting conclusion to that section, verses 13 through
18, and really to the entire epistle. It is perhaps alarming to some
that I have titled the message eradicating the pandemic. I want
you to know right off the bat that I am not making light of
this thing. This trial that has fallen not
just to a single nation or to a single community, but really
in a sense to the entire world. I’m not making light of it. The
coronavirus, the less affectionately known as COVID-19, no one really
knows how bad it is yet. How many people will become infected?
How our economy will be affected, what kind of social political
upheavals there may be. The situation is already serious. This week, as you may have read,
the CDC’s rather gloomy outlook regarding this disease. They
forecasted that a worst case scenario would be up to 160 million
Americans that could become infected. And out of those, approximately
1.7 million could die if this disease were to go unchecked.
This is nothing to make light of. So for those of you who traffic
in those kinds of reports, read those kinds of reports, that
kind of statistical analysis, you would have to agree that
of a nation of 400 million people approximately, a 1% mortality
rate really is not that bad. I’m not making light of it. When
I say that it’s not so bad, it’s because I know and I would like
you to consider that there is another disease that has already
affected and infected every single person ever born. And if it’s not dealt with, it
ends in death every time. That disease, of course, is the
disease called sin. Here’s my point. If our all-out
effort is being given, invested in trying to mitigate an outbreak
of a physical disease, ought we not be infinitely more concerned
with a spiritual disease with which we know we’re already infected? James chapter five, verses 19
and 20. 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. We will never completely eradicate
that pandemic, but we can deal effectively with
life’s most deadly virus. We won’t. Save every person ever
born. That already is a fact. But we
can have a role. We can have a part in battling
against this insidious pandemic called sin. James calls us to a consideration
of the really great ministry of reconciliation. The reconciliation
of a wayward individual. He wants us to know how to deal
effectively with life’s most deadly virus, that of sin. First of all, as James opens
this incredible passage, he opens with the symptoms of the disease. The symptoms of the disease,
just glance down momentarily, Look at verse 19, my brethren,
if any of you strays from the truth. We are not surprised at the opening
words of this, James’s final paragraph of this great epistle. He begins with a very familiar
term, brethren, brothers. If we incline our ear in his
direction, we can hear James’s love and affection for these
saints. They are more than just to him
a flock of sheep. They are far more than just parishioners,
so much more than just converts or attendees or just people. They are his brothers, they are
to him family. They are the most intimate of
relation. And as such, they are of infinite
value to James. This nominative reference to
the recipients, this affectionate title, brother, is plentifully
used throughout this entire epistle. This isn’t just James springing
this on these saints at the very end of his epistle. This has
been his heart from the very beginning. The focus of this
entire epistle is upon genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ,
that they would examine themselves, He cares for them as a shepherd
only could. Thirteen times in this epistle,
James refers to them directly and affectionately as brothers.
James 1.2, consider it all joy, my brethren. James 1.16, do not
be deceived, my beloved brethren. James 1.19, this you know, my
beloved brethren, but let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak. and slow to anger. James 2.1,
my brethren. James 2.5, my beloved brethren. Over and over again throughout
this epistle, James issues this refrain, reminding these saints
that they were to him beloved and precious like his own family,
like his own flesh and blood. And so it’s only appropriate
here In these closing words, his appeal to his brothers, that
in these two little words, his enduring affection is communicated
to them. Who wouldn’t listen to everything
that a kind of man like this had to say? He loves them. He
has them in his heart. They have him in theirs. James
has used some of the strongest language in all of the New Testament. to admonish, to shake, to excite these believers. Some of the strongest language
in all the New Testament in his attempt to reason with them over
their souls. But they know that he has their
good in mind. He wants no more than to see
them in full glory. And so he appeals to them once
more, my brethren, my brethren, if any among you strays from
the truth. We can begin by noting that this
is a completely hypothetical situation. James says if. He’s not zeroing
on any situation that he knew definitively, he says, if any. It’s hypothetical. He doesn’t
have any particulars, but he knows full well that the situation
is not only likely. It’s inevitable. It’s inevitable
that there are going to be those who stray from the truth, it’s
inevitable for those to fall into some manner of sin. There will be those who stray,
James says, and when they do, you need to know how to respond.
That’s James’ plan here in this closing section. He knows that
because of the prevalence of sin and the innumerable temptations
of the world, the steady inclination of the human heart toward transgression,
the constant assaults of the devil himself, James knows that
people are inclined to sin. It’s not just a possibility,
it’s an inevitability. Sooner or later, James says,
you’re going to see this. Just look around. Examples abound. Someone and really better yet,
some ones are going to fall. Some are going to sin. That shouldn’t
ever surprise us. Now, one of the big questions
of this passage. is what is the precise spiritual
state of this subject, this hypothetical subject? Is this person a Christian
or is he an unbeliever? Some say that there’s ample support
in this passage that this is an unbeliever. This is an unbeliever
to whom we are to go, we are to go and appeal and essentially
preach the gospel all over to him. the support that’s offered
as he is referred to as a sinner whose soul needs to be saved
from death. And I think on the face of it,
that is a good position to take. It seems plausible until I think
you back away and take the passage in its entirety. And when you look at some of
the other data, which data we just looked at, he calls them
brethren. He appeals to them as brethren
and then says, if any among you, if any in the church, if anyone
in your Christian society should begin to drift. This is a professor of Christianity. This is one who has made a profession
of faith. This is one who sits among us,
who carries a Bible, who comes to church, perhaps even Bible
study. They go through all the various
things that a Christian does. And for a season, they look like
a Christian. They sound like a Christian.
They present themselves as a Christian and yet suddenly we find them
here in this passage as James articulates, straying from the
truth. You can’t stray from the truth
unless you’re a professing believer. You can’t be turned back unless
you were at one point a professing believer. And just because James
calls this man a sinner doesn’t mean that he has never made a
profession of faith. He is actively engaged in sinning. That is a sinner. And so I see this man as a wayward,
wandering, ungrounded professor of Christ. One who once claimed
or even who still claims to be a Christian. but whose life has
begun to betray his confession and is perhaps. Even a false
professor. Look again at the passage, if
you would. Where James says in verse 19, my brethren, if any
among you strays from the truth. Now, as I said. This is a church-going
individual in my opinion he fits in he looks the part to a degree
He talks the talk and literally James says if he is in you Literally
in your midst The new American Standard translates
it among you That’s even less precise This guy is part of you. I This person is in your fellowship. He’s in your body. He’s in your
midst. He’s perhaps even in Christ. That’s to be determined. But
he doesn’t act like it. His testimony betrays his profession. And that thought, of course,
is where the well-worn evangelism illustration comes in. Being
in a church doesn’t prove that you’re a Christian any more than
being in a garage proves that you’re a car. Well. But there they are. Or at least
there they were among us. But James notices something terribly
out of place. Something completely out of character
for a Christian. something that is utterly irreconcilable
with a person’s profession of faith. He has strayed from the truth.
Look at the passage, if any among you strays from the truth. It’s as if James is looking out
over the church, any church really, ours included, and something
suddenly catches his eye. Why, it’s someone he knows. It’s
a person who was converted in this particular ministry. He
was baptized not long ago. He’s made a strong showing for
a time. And yet, inconceivably, he’s
drifting. He’s wandering away. He’s straying. It’s more than interesting here
that the Greek word is the word from which we get our word planet.
You see, the ancients believed that the stars just ambled and
wandered around the night sky. So this word was used in that
sense. It’s used by that sense even by Jesus himself. Matthew
18, Jesus says, what do you think if a man has a hundred sheep
and one of them has gone astray? Does he not leave the 99 on the
mountains and go search for the one that is straying? If it turns
out that he finds it, truly, truly, I say to you, he rejoices
over it more than over the 99 which have not gone astray. Using that same image of a wandering
soul. It’s the sad image of a wandering
sheep, which is a familiar metaphor in scripture. Ezekiel 34, which
passage we’ve looked at in times past, those who are sickly you
have not strengthened, the distressed you have not healed, the broken
you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor
have you sought for the lost, but with force and with severity
you have dominated them. He says you’ve got wandering
sheep all over the hillside and you, poor excuse for a shepherd,
have done nothing. Matthew chapter 9. Christ used
the same word to speak of those wandering sheep, seeing the people
he felt compassion for them because they were distressed and dispirited,
like sheep without a shepherd, just out there on the hill, wandering. Food for so many wolves. First
Peter. First Peter captures the image
as well, speaking about our former heathen, ungodly life. Peter says you were continually
straying like sheep, wandering about the hillside, waiting to
be consumed. But now you have returned to
the shepherd and guardian of your souls. Beautiful passage. And so like a wandering, aimless
planet, this poor person is drifting. He had his compass set. He’d
made a testimony. He had a fixed goal to grow in
Christ likeness. But it gets worse. This word
gets worse. You see, in time, this word came
to refer to deception. To being deceived. James used
the word plentifully in that sense. We’ll come back to that in a
second, but Christ used it. Christ in Matthew 24 says, see
that no one misleads you. Same word. Many will come, he
says in 24 five and will mislead many. Peter uses it in the same
exact way. Paul uses the word even more
strongly. Do not be deceived. 2 Timothy 3, evil men and imposters
will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But James even uses the word
in that particular way earlier in his epistle, James 1.16, do
not be deceived, my beloved brethren. And so here is one who is wandering,
but upon closer inspection is actually still being led But
it isn’t the shepherd he’s following. He’s being deceived. He’s being
led astray. And here we must employ the more
sinister definition of this word. He’s not just wandering aimlessly
and passively. He’s being deceived. He’s being
seduced. He’s being led into error, deluded. And the question naturally arises,
was the individual deceived only, tricked into wandering perhaps
by worldly allures or does he wander away all on his own? Does the person wander on his
own volition or is he led astray and deceived? The answer is yes.
It’s both. Because this proposition can’t
be an either-or proposition. A person must have an inclination,
a willingness to wander, where he sees something more delightful,
more delectable, more appealing, and he takes the bait. And so
it’s hair-splitting to say that it’s got to be one, either way
or the other. He’s seen what he wants. And
he moves in that direction. Look at the passage again, if
you would. My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth. Look at this. This is a horrible situation.
He’s wandering away from the truth. It isn’t merely an intellectual
slide here. It’s not just that he doesn’t
have enough information, it’s moral and spiritual as well. He’s hedging on the glorious
truth of the gospel. It’s very important to note that
this wandering away is not a complete apostasy from the faith, not
yet, but it is on one or several particulars
of the faith where they are suddenly placed in a scale, he doesn’t
know which way to go on them. He hasn’t completely capitulated
into unbelief. But on one of those particulars
of the faith, he’s second guessing. When James says truth here, he
isn’t suggesting for a moment that the man is becoming less
than truthful, a liar. Not truth in that sense. He’s
saying that the man is actively doubting, questioning some or
at least one of the key tenets of Christianity. When he speaks of truth here,
James refers to the entire body of truth that is the gospel.
The sinfulness of humanity. The fact that we are all utterly
sinful. And have fallen short of the
glory of God. Perhaps he’s second guessing. Questioning, equivocating on
the nature and the character of God. Maybe he’s not as good
as I thought he was. Maybe he’s not as powerful. Maybe
he’s not as caring. Maybe he’s not really in control
after all. Maybe he’s not as holy as scripture seemed to present
himself to be. Perhaps he’s hedging on the nature
and character of God himself. Perhaps he’s hedging or wondering
about the whole doctrine of the Trinity. How after all can they
all be God? Perhaps he’s hedging on the deity
of Christ. Perhaps he’s hedging. On the
beautiful design of Christ and the church. Any of those things
would be enough, any of those things would be enough to begin
to allure. A professing believer to begin to lead them astray.
Any of those things, but the bottom line is he’s hedging.
He’s second guessing. And that kind of hedging and
second guessing must and will bear fruit. It’s a matter of
time. Even if it’s rotten and putrid
fruit, his dying faith will be seen in his life. Sinful thought will in time give
birth to sinful behavior. There’s a wandering. that’s a
straying from the truth, that’s a flirting with unbiblical ideas,
unchristian thoughts, ungodly attitudes, impure speech, worldly
influences. And if it’s left unchecked, the
virus will take that life. Sin will beget other sin. And ultimately, sin, we know,
brings death. And so, in a sense, this man
is beginning to live an untruthful life. The waning of Christian
character that is supposed to be the natural fruit of Christianity. Stay with me, because this is
where it gets really alarming. Theological truth, Christian
doctrine, is supposed to be the very foundation of a godly life. How frightening then that some
say, and they’ve said it for years, that doctrine is unimportant. That it doesn’t matter what we
believe, only that we believe. So the very foundation upon which
godliness is supposed to be established is effectively destroyed. Robert
Johnstone. Put it this way, to depreciate
the importance of knowing and cherishing doctrinal truth, to
rest on a false assumption that apart from the perception and
belief of truth by the mind, the heart can become pure and
loving and holy before God, Did you hear what he says? To think
that you can just naturally become holy without pondering and meditating
and building yourselves up in the most holy faith with doctrine. He says that according to the
whole tenor of scripture, the knowledge and belief of certain
grand truths are absolutely needful to produce holy affections. Jesus enters the affections through
the mind. He dispels the atmosphere of
falsehood which by nature filled the whole soul. And yet this
man stands and is now hedging on some one or another of the
great theological truths of Christianity. And still he thinks that he can
be godly? James says no. It’s evident that he has before his mind error of the
most serious kind, whether of creed or of conduct or both. This man is in a very precarious
position. The individual who departs ultimately
departs morally. He departs not only morally,
but theologically and doctrinally and spiritually and ethically.
And so whether he willfully goes astray or is deceived into it,
it is a departure from the path of righteousness. Even if it’s
only in seed form. There’s no such thing. As a little
bit of apostasy. Every slight departure is perilous. No wonder James casts the any
of you of verse 19 very straightforwardly as sinner in verse 20. Such deviation is a departure
both in doctrine and life. Those two things cannot be separated.
As one faithful shepherd put it, false spiritual standards
cannot restrain the flesh. Turn from the truth. The falsehood
of your life will soon become evident. Truth and godliness
go hand in hand. God’s providence will cut it
there. This morning, I would plead with
you. If we’re going to eradicate the pandemic, you’ve got to come
back and hear what the treatment is. You’ve got to come back and
hear what the positive report is at the end of that incredible
verse. But for now, let’s humble ourselves
before the glorious throne of grace. Our merciful King, We do pause and bow ourselves
before this precious table. That is a representation and
a reminder of us to us of all that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered
on our behalf. Beaten and mistreated, falsely
judged, condemned. Beaten again, ultimately crucified,
mocked mercilessly. Lord, how could we ever? How could we ever hedge? On any
of the truth of the gospel. We were dead. We brought nothing. God in his mercy from eternity
past set his love upon us and began in time to draw us to himself. And he brought us to knees of
repentance. We brought nothing to the equation. Then he gifted us. He granted
us first eternal life. And he gifted us with the means
to serve him. Lord, every day of our Christian
life has been an opportunity to learn more about you, to know
and love you more. How could we ever hedge? But your word says that we have. So with all eyes bowed, I would
just plead. With believers. to examine their own hearts before
Almighty God, to see which of those truths, those doctrines that we once held perhaps even
passionately, would we be almost willing to
let go now? Our Father God, we plead On behalf
of any in this room who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. Who
have not yet made a profession of faith, unlike this man, he
had at least made a profession of faith, he saw Christ for who
he was, he allegedly placed his faith in Christ. Lord, this is not works righteousness,
this is not salvation by works. This is salvation by examining
our lives in light of the Holy Spirit indwelling us in light
of the testimony of God’s word and acknowledging that we have
plenty to confess. Lord God, we pray, do your work. Do your work, Holy Spirit, in
the lives of those who do not know you. who do not place their
faith in Christ, not yet. We pray that you would bring
them to repentance. We pray that this scourge on
our land would bring many to repentance. We lay these things
before you in Jesus name. Amen.