From our Journey Through James series, our Sunday service on July 2, 2023, with a short Fourth of July message on freedom in Christ and the close of James, James 5:12–20. Watch the full message: A Journey Through James 6 on YouTube.
The last few messages I’ve been up here have been pretty unconventional, and I realized that if I’m unconventional often enough, maybe you should just expect unconventional. So we are doing two messages. I have to finish the one from last time, and since it is almost the Fourth of July, I can’t get up here the week before and not mention it. We have freedom to worship here every Sunday with no problem, and I pray we wouldn’t take that for granted. But the highest freedom we can ever receive was purchased on our behalf on a hill outside of Jerusalem, as Jesus freely offered Himself for us. Our shackles were broken and our chains were removed. His death became our life and His shame became our glory. Real freedom comes from knowing the truth.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:31–32
Truth and Freedom
That verse is very common, and it echoes what James has been teaching in our series: if you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed, which is what James means by being a doer of the word and not a hearer only. And when you are like that, you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Is the truth some secret knowledge that we have and other people don’t? No. John 14:6 makes it clear what the truth is. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Truth is Jesus Christ. You shall know Jesus, and Jesus shall make you free. Freedom comes from knowing Christ. We can’t just believe that Jesus was a good man or a good teacher. Either He was a good teacher and the Son of God, or He was a bad teacher and a liar. He can’t be both. If we don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the dead, we are not going to know Him and His power.
Christ's Sacrifice and Our Liberty
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1
Once you are saved, Christ has liberated you from your sin and from its consequences. He has forgiven us and given us a new life, and Paul encourages the Galatians to stand firm in that freedom. If we need to stand firm, it is possible not to. There is a struggle, an entanglement with the yoke of bondage, like thorns wrapping you up. “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Before we knew Jesus we were torn left and right toward every temptation, but God has given us a Spirit that can convict us, direct us, encourage us, and lift us up. The unbelievers will say, “Why do you want to place yourself under all these rules? You think you’re better than me. You’re just a slave to what the Bible says.” They don’t realize that the sins they commit are chains on them. It is like a person in prison yelling at you, “Why do you want to be outside this cell? I get three meals a day, and you’re out there paying for yours.”
The Presence of the Lord Is Freedom
This country has made some backsteps in its liberty. It proclaims liberty and yet takes it away. But there is a spiritual freedom that is more powerful than anything on this earth. There are people in China under some of the most authoritarian governments who experience true freedom in Christ in a way we can’t even understand. We have been spoiled here in our freedom. How do we have that communion with God’s Spirit? We study the word. But Bible study doesn’t end with reading your Bible every day. If you read it and set it down and never think about it again, it won’t do you a lot of good. I wrote down a quote one day in school while listening to a preacher: you can read your Bible and pray every day and still be a lukewarm Christian. It doesn’t matter if you read it if you don’t get anything out of it. There is freedom from sin, from judgment, and from the anxiety, worry, and guilt that come with it. But there is also freedom for love, for service, for worship, and for life as God intended.
The Responsibility of Freedom
We had Independence Day and the fight to free our country from the British, but the fights did not end there. There are still wars and enemies coming at this country, so we need soldiers ready to defend it at a moment’s notice. The Christian life is the same. We might be saved and free from the condemnation of hell, but there are still enemies. Satan wants us to trip. Many foolish people say Christians are all hypocrites. Peter says that if you do good, you will silence them. When they see it, they will learn that Christians aren’t just talkers but walkers, or as James says, doers of the word. And don’t use your liberty as a cloak of maliciousness. Don’t put grace on as a cover for sin. Christ has fought to make us free. Daily we need to choose whether we will fight for that freedom in our lives. Now we look at James’s concluding thoughts. Last time, because the morning ran long, we split James 5 into two parts. “Above all things” is not saying this is more important than everything else James has said. It is a Greek idiom for the conclusion of everything, like our “finally.”
Make Your Intentions Clear
Is he saying never make a promise? No, because the Bible does say in some passages to make promises. Many Jewish people in James’s time made distinctions between a binding oath and a non-binding oath. Oaths that did not include the name of God were considered non-binding, and to use them was a way of crossing your fingers behind your back while telling a lie. James condemns those oaths. The modern equivalent is “I promise next week I’ll give you my money.” If you have to say “I promise,” that means you’re not trustworthy. If you are trustworthy, you just say, “Next week I’ll give you the money,” and people trust you. As a Christian you shouldn’t have to give a disclaimer that you’re sincere this time. People should know you are sincere by your character. I’ve also read the passage on prayer many times and skipped over how it is worded, so pay attention. Often I hear it preached in terms of the church as a whole: is any among you afflicted, let us pray for them. But that’s not what the verse says. It says let him. James is calling out the personal responsibility of the believer. If you’re afflicted, you pray. If you’re merry, you sing. If you’re sick, you call for the elders.
Know the Healing Power of Prayer
The anointing with oil is likely medicinal. We get an example from the Good Samaritan, who bound up the wounded man’s wounds, pouring in oil and wine. So the oil has a two-part meaning. One is medicine: treat the person, but give the medicine in the name of the Lord, praying God’s blessing over the medicine, the operation, and the recovery. Medicine can work, but medicine and God can work miracles, so we ought to bring God into the picture. The oil is also a picture of the Holy Spirit. I have only seen confession come together once, and I really wish I could see it active in the church today. We are not just supposed to pray for one another but to confess our faults to one another, and for that a church needs great spiritual unity. David Guzik says, “Confession breaks the power of secret sin,” and I think that is so true. First, confession should be made to the one you sinned against. If you’ve talked behind someone’s back, you don’t confess that to the whole church and embarrass them. You go to that person and come clean. Sometimes confession should be made with a group of people you trust. It shouldn’t be made to people you don’t trust, because it can be used against you.
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
Return the Backslider
James points us to Elijah. Elijah sat under a tree and said, “God, kill me, I’ll never be as good as the people who came before me.” He worried that nobody would stand beside him in defense of God. He was defeated, and so low that he prayed for God to take his life. Yet James says he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain, and he prayed again and the rain came. He wasn’t perfect, and he had very down days, but God still heard him. “If any of you do err from the truth.” Who is the truth? Jesus Christ. James is encouraging believers to seek out those among them who struggle: covetousness, arrogance, hiding their sins. If you can convert them, you will save a soul from death. The goal is not condemnation but restoration. “I’m not condemning you. I’m here to lift you up from the struggle and help you get back on track, just like I would hope you would do for me.” What kind of Christian do we want to be? Are we going to be hearers who sit and absorb every church service but never change, or doers who hear the teachings of Christ and make them an active part of our lives? We need to have a prayer life. We need to be clear in our intentions, so that when we say something we mean it.
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