MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK SERIES
SOUL WINNER
JAMES 5:19-20
#JAMESatCCC
READ James 5:19-20
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
VIDEO: I Am Second Richard Ellis (4:14)
READ James 5:19-20
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
IF ONE OF YOU SHOULD WANDER FROM THE TRUTH
Is it possible to wander from the truth?
In the Gospels, Jesus Christ tells the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13 and Mark 4 where people accept the Word of God and then because of evil, persecution, doubt, or worry they fall away from faith. In another passage, after some hard teaching from Jesus, John 6:66 records, “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
The Apostle Paul warns Timothy about drifting away from faith when he says, “Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith” (1 Timothy 1:18-19).
The writer of Hebrews talks about wandering away from faith over and over again. One of the passages is Hebrews 3:12, “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Notice its addressed to “brothers” who can turn away.
The Apostle Peter warns us in 2 Peter 3:17, “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.”
It is possible for a person who confesses Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior to wander from the truth. One of the greatest tragedies in this life is when a person has come to know Jesus, and they wander away. It is possible to wander away. It is possible for “self” to become more important than God. It is possible for commitment to Christ to become less and less. It is possible to drown out the voice of the Holy Spirit with sin. We can become trapped by an idol that takes the place of God.
VIDEO: I Am Second Jeff Fisher (3:50)
READ James 5:19-20
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
SOMEONE SHOULD BRING HIM BACK
The greatest most blessed work a Christian can ever do is to help in saving a soul from death. God certainly does the saving, but you and I can be God’s instruments in someone’s life. To bring another person to Jesus is a complete honor.
Even in the Old Testament, the Prophet Daniel wrote, Daniel 12:3, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (12:3). Leading people to righteousness and life in Christ is worthy of our time and energy and effort and prayer.
How can we do that?
* Stay focused on the essentials of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection rather than getting drawn into debates about peripheral issues like politics or new stories.
* Listen to people and their stories and how they feel about it and empathize with their pain and after listening and earning trust… help them think biblically about their issues.
* Tell others our personal story of how we began a relationship with Jesus what that relationship means in our everyday life.
* Befriend people first before we ever talk with them about faith. Make sure they know that we truly love and accept them as people before we share that God loves them.
* Invite someone to join us to do work in the community and let them see how our faith motivates us to serve.
* Pray for the people around us who do not know Jesus or have fallen away and pray for an opportunity to talk with them.
VIDEO: I Am Second Paul Goldschmidt (3:51)
READ James 5:19-20
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
WHOEVER TURNS A SINNER FROM THE ERROR OF HIS WAY
Repentance means we recognize that we have sinned (missed the mark) and have been separated from God. Through sin we alienate ourselves from God and from other people. We have disobeyed God. We confess this freely and vow to turn from that way of living. Repentance is powerful. Repentance is life changing. Repentance is also hard!
ILLUSTRATION… https://www.purelifeministries.org/blog/help-for-those-who-want-to-repent (adapted)
Repentance issues in radical life change. There is always a difference that you and others can see. John the Baptist demanded, “bear fruit in keeping with repentance!” (Matthew 3:8) He was saying, “Demonstrate by your new behavior that you have truly changed your heart and your life.” One can pray and ask to be forgiven for their sins, but before long be right back asking for forgiveness for those same sins all over again.
There has been no change.
There has not been a rejection and a forsaking of the sin.
There is no hatred of the sin that causes one to renounce it.
There is no awareness of what that sin does to God, nor of the price Jesus paid for its forgiveness.
Neither is there any awareness of what the continuation of that sin is doing to the heart, conscience and life of the sinner, nor the impact of that sin upon others. Real repentance is a thorough work of rooting sin out, and not a shallow, haphazard and half-hearted attempt to gain absolution so that one can simply repeat the same cycle all over again. Repentance bears fruit. It brings a change that can be seen.
VIDEO: I Am Second Mike Fisher (7:09)
READ James 5:19-20
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
WILL SAVE HIM FROM DEATH AND COVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS
Keeping God, the Bible, and the Christian faith in mind, the word “atonement” is important here. “Atonement” is the act by which God Almighty Himself restores a relationship of harmony and peace and forgiveness between Himself and human beings. Atonement is the covering of a multitude of sins. Atonement is the payment for sins. The Israelites had to sacrifice animals for atonement, but we do not. We have Jesus. Or, some of us do.
Jesus Christ submit Himself to the will of God. That meant suffering. That meant pain. That meant blood flowing. That meant submitting to scorn and disgrace. What happened to Jesus was no accident, but was all part of God’s plan to once and for all fulfill this part of the restoration process to cover over our sins.
Atonement for me and for you can only happen if Jesus willingly dies. It was free will that got you and I into the mess with sin and it is only free will that would pay for us. We willingly were silent, impure, and broke our promises among many other things. I think all of us understand we are guilty of such things. No one is perfect. No one comes through life perfect. It doesn’t happen. We need Jesus to restore us.
The process of having Jesus’ blood cover our sins is not a difficult one. The sacrifice is done for us. 1 John 1:8-9 tells us plainly, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” We must confess our sins and He takes it from there.
Jesus is the lamb or goat from the flock who is our sacrifice.
Jesus was drained of His blood to cover us.
Jesus’ blood was sprinkled on all of us when we came to faith in Him.
Jesus was the sin offering.
Jesus makes atonement for us for any of these sins we have committed, and we will be forgiven.
SUMMARY
It is my hope and prayer that these stories today have encouraged you and make you think.
It is my hope and prayer that you are encouraged to be a great witness for Christ to those around you.
It is my hope and prayer that if you need the blood of Jesus to cover you, that you will come forward today.
PRAYER
