“Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20)
FINAL CONCERN
We now come to the final concern of this epistle. We have just seen how the Lord of the Church, who is the Head of the Body, has graciously inquired concerning the state of the members. “Is any among you afflicted?” “Is any merry?” “Is any among you sick?” And we have heard His instructions to each one who would answer one of these inquiries with; “Yes my Lord, I am!”
Now we see there is another possibility. There may be those among us who err from the truth. However, it is not the erring one who is addressed here, but the Church as a whole. Only he who can see clearly will be able to help the one who cannot.
ERROR
The danger of error has always been present. Possibly we have not given enough heed to the stark reality of these verses addressed to the church so early in its history. Yet our Lord Jesus in His own ministry clearly emphasized the same truths we have here in a condensed form. He warned of error, its cause, its danger, and how it could be avoided. It will be good for us to spend some time here and let our hearts be touched by the sobering thoughts of these verses, some of which are clearly stated, others which are clearly implied.
AMONG US
It is necessary to again emphasize that the concern here is the error which may be present among the community of believers. “Brethren if any of you do err from the truth.” There is a dangerous tendency to think of error as being on the outside. We relegate it to false cults and to those who openly resist the church and its teachings. But what is spoken of here is the possibility of those among us who profess to be saved, and may sincerely believe they are saved, yet are not because they are living in error.
HOW COULD IT BE?
I suppose that there could be many causes for this. But we could put these individuals into one of two categories. In the first category are those who have never really been completely willing to submit to Jesus Christ and His teachings without reserve. In other words they are not true seekers of God. Yet they have found a certain comfort in religion and in being a member of the church.
In the second category are those who are the unfortunate victims of defective evangelism. Because they have followed certain instructions or a certain recipe or formula, they have been informed they are now Christians. They have become members of the church and sincerely believe they are all right. Yet they are living in error and have not yet been confronted with the whole truth of the Gospel message. It is a shame to have to say it, but I believe examples of this kind are very prevalent today.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK
We will divide our consideration of these verses into two parts. In the first part we will consider the definition of error as well as the awesome plight of those living in error. In the second part we will consider the equally awesome responsibility of those who know and walk in truth.
DEFINITION OF ERROR
Error is straying from the truth, or anything that does not harmonize with the truth. If truth is white, then error is not only black, but every shade of gray between white and black. Even if it is just off-white it is still straying from the truth. It is error, it is missing the mark, and it is wrong. Very pointedly our text declares that the one who has strayed from the truth is a sinner whose soul will be lost unless he is converted, or turned back to the truth.
In talking about living in error we are not talking about committing sins, but of wrong beliefs. However, our beliefs are demonstrated by the way we live, things we allow and the things we say.
DEFINITION OF TRUTH
To fully define error we must define truth. In defining truth we will consider some of the great statements of our Lord Jesus and His Apostles and then look at the conclusions we must draw from these statements.
Note carefully these great statements:
I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
“Thy Word is truth.” (John 17:17)
“To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” (John 18:38)
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and show it unto you.” (John 16:13,14)
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:14,17)
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (I John 2:4)
CONCLUSIONS
The first and most obvious conclusion we come to is that truth did not come from this world. It is not of this world. Truth is as eternal as God and it comes from God. It is of heaven, not of this earth. Second, the Word of God is truth. Third, Jesus Christ is Truth and He is the Word made flesh and for a season He dwelt among men. Fourth, He came to bear witness unto the truth.
THEREFORE
Any philosophy, teaching, counsel, psychology, sociology, theory, or deduction, no matter how fascinating it may be, if it does not harmonize with Jesus Christ and the Word of God is error. The very fact that a man will adopt or embrace such error is in itself proof that his heart is already astray from God and has a need to be converted. Also any attempt to mix error and truth surely proves a low level of regard for truth and God. This too indicates a need for conversion.
OUR UNIVERSAL CONSTANT
This is not to imply that truth is hard to find. It is only showing the folly of trying to invent truth when truth is already eternally established. The Word of God is the eternal and universal constant by which all truth or error must be judged. All who cannot or will not accept this will be hopelessly lost, for to them God is not God.
If God is God, then His Word must be the final authority. It was intended that man should find and discover things new to him, but it was also intended that he interpret what he finds and what he discovers by the already established and revealed truth of God.
TO THE ONE WHO KNOWS
Now we must consider the great responsibility of the one who knows and walks in truth. “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
It is apparent that the Christian must be able to recognize error. Beyond that however, is the danger of the unholy practice of rationalizing what we see. For example, “He means well,” or, “As long as his heart’s right,” etc… What this can really all adds up to is not caring what he does. If a man is not willing to defend truth and expose error, it is evident he cares little for either.
THERE IS A RIGHT WAY
Of course there is a Christian way to correct error if we are really going to help the one who is in error. Proper motives will result in proper methods. We should not set about to prove we are right, but rather we must prove that we care. The attempt to prove we’re right will only lead to argument and strife.
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” (2Tim. 2:24-26)
A MESSAGE IN CLOSING
Never before in the history of man has error been so easily accessible and so attractively presented as it is today. In every home, classroom, waiting room, barber shop, and beauty parlor, if one has a moment to spare, he can reach out and take a magazine or turn on the radio or television and read or hear how to have a successful marriage or how to bring up your children.” Dr. so and so’s discovery of this or that is all attractively presented and beautifully illustrated. Many times these articles are cleverly backed with so call statistics, yet so much of it is an outright contradiction to the revealed truth from heaven.
The counsel of the ungodly is to be avoided as the poison of a serpent. But, alas, how often it is not! Many professing Christians have read countless articles on, “The successful marriage,” or “How to bring up children,” or “How to be successful and find happiness”. Yet those same Christians are almost totally illiterate as to what the Word of God teaches on these very subjects. Today the counsel of the ungodly is being taken into Sunday school classrooms and Christian colleges. Instead of exposing this council for what it is, it is being mixed with the Word of God and is producing great confusion.
CONTEND FOR THE FAITH
Our book of Psalms begins with these great words: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)
The counsel of the ungodly is easily accessible on virtually every issue and subject dealt with in God’s Word. Of course it is not advertised as such, but so much of what is written in the popular periodicals of today amounts to nothing less than a challenge to the truth of God’s Word. It is for us to take heed and to be numbered with “those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Heb. 5:14) And it is on this point that the “great falling away” of the last days will center, a falling away from respect, dedication, and obedience to the Word of God.
Only when we are firmly established in the truth and dedicated wholly to it, will we be able to win the sinner and turn him from the error of his way. We then become the channel through which the sinner receives the knowledge of sin and the shed blood of Jesus Christ which can hide his multitude of transgressions and cleanse him from all iniquity.
“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)