Have you ever watched a fellow brother or sister in Christ backslide? Have you, yourself, ever backslidden? What does that even mean? It’s when you, as a believer, return to bad habits, sinful behavior, or undesirable activities. We all struggle; even Paul testified to this in Romans 7.
Rom. 7:15-20, “For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.”
But how far you go down that path depends on you. Will you harden your heart to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and refuse to hear truth? Or will you humbly receive truth and correction and make the turn back to Christ and obedience to His Word?
James 5:19-20, “My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a mulitude of sins.”
In the closing verses of chapter 5, James finishes his letter addressing, “my brothers and sisters,” meaning those within the family of Christ. He talks about Christian community throughout his whole book, but here he urges believers to help those who wander from the truth.
He reminds us that we have a responsibility not just to ourselves, but to one another. We are meant to live in community – community that reflects the kingdom and the character of God. When one of us wanders off from the truth, it’s the role of others to humbly and lovingly help to bring him or her back.
Let’s take a closer look at these verses that close out the last chapter of the book of James. Verse 19 says, “My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back.”
He begins by dispelling any myths you may have heard about walking out your salvation on earth: “if any among you” – meaning, “Caution!” It’s possible, plausible, for a believer to wander from God’s Word.
Those first two words, “if anyone”, show us it just takes one – anyone. And the last two words, “…among you”, show us he is talking to saved people. And what do we do? What are we at risk of doing? Straying from what we know is right. Wandering away from God and His truth. Going in the opposite direction of His ways. Wandering from the truth means wandering from the true God, wandering from living out the faith He’s called us to live, or wandering from doing what He’s told His people to do.
When a brother or sister has strayed from the path of God’s Word, what are we to do? “Turn him back.” Show him or her the way back. Point them in the way of truth. Encourage them to turn back to the Lord. This seems to imply the one who has wandered away can’t come back alone; he needs a helper.
When we see someone turning away in the community of faith, we need to be people who have the humility, gentleness, love, and courage to correct them. But we need to make sure we’re not showing them the speck in their eye while failing to notice the log in our own. And when we ourselves wander, we need to have the humility to listen as others speak into our lives and call us back to the truth. It would be much more comfortable to keep ourselves at a distance instead of getting into the lives of others and allowing them into ours. It would be much easier to make faith just about “me” and “my own” relationship with God. But living out our faith is not just about God and “me”. It is also to be lived out in community. That is often hard to do. It can be messy and uncomfortable. But as James says, when we bring back a sinner from wandering, God is using us to help rescue them or them to help rescue us. God is using us to make each other more like Christ.
This task shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s to be done humbly and prayerfully. And then when we are the one who has wandered off, we should rejoice when others grab our hand and lead us back to the truth.
James closes chapter 5 with an appeal to loving fellow believers enough to intervene when one strays from the truth: “let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (verse 20).
The one who restores a fellow believer “saves his soul from death” and “will cover a multitude of sins”. James is quoting from Prov. 10:12 which states, “love covers all transgressions.” This is a restatement of the command to love your neighbor that James refers back to again and again throughout his letter.
James says “the one who has turned a sinner”, showing us again that it just takes one – anyone who is willing to do the work and invest in the life of another. I don’t know about you, but shouldn’t we want to be that “someone” for someone else? And don’t we want our fellow sisters and brothers to do that for us?!
But it also takes discernment – “ears to hear” – from that other person. It’s not a one-sided event. It takes a willing, obedient follower of Christ, walking maturely in the Word. And it takes a humble and willing receiver (and listener) to respond and want to “come back” to fellowship with Christ.
Don’t miss the serious nature of this verse: “save his soul from death.” We don’t just save a person from a situation. We save them from death.
When someone strays from the faith, we are often quick to alienate that person with harsh words of judgment. Instead, we need to pray. We need to forgive. And we need to help restore unity in the body of Christ. We should “turn them back” out of a genuine love and concern for their relationship with the Lord. We should want to see them walking in right relationship and we should love them enough to help them find their way back, in obedience to God.
The act of helping the one who has gone astray is an act of love. It does not mean telling others about their wandering or mistakes or reckless behavior. It does not mean watching them stray further and further while “wishing” they would change or shaking our head in shame at their choices. The love we extend when we choose to get involved is a love that covers a “multitude of sins.”
We encourage them, love them, help them find their way back, and point them over and over to the Lord. We pray with them and for them so that if and when they return to a right relationship with the Lord, the world won’t have to see the messiness and struggle they endured to get there.
And don’t get confused. Our “saving a soul from death” is not us giving salvation. It is not someone losing salvation and getting it back again either. We are not Jesus. We cannot save people’s souls. We are also not the Holy Spirit. Jesus saves. And when a person who has wandered makes the decision in their heart and mind to return to the Lord, it is God who gets the glory! He does for us what we can never do for ourselves. He is mighty to save. But what we have the opportunity to do is intervene in a person’s life and show them the way back to the Lord.