James, the
“servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”, told the
people within the “twelve tribes scattered abroad” they
should “confess” their “faults one to another”
and “pray” for one another. He used “Elijah”
who “prayed earnestly” and it did not rain for three and a
half years, and he prayed again and it “rained”, “and
the earth brought forth her fruit”. In chapter five and verse
nineteen of his letter, James began his final words to his “brethren”
as he referred to people
who “err from the truth” where we read:
Brethren,
if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
The
verse begins, “Brethren, if any of you do err from the
truth,...” James began with the word, “Brethren”
which refers to “fellow believers who are united to one another by
the bond of affection in Christ”, “if any of you” or
“some and certain ones of James' readers” “do err”
which means “cause to stray, lead astray, wander or roam away”
“from the truth” which means “what is true appertaining
to God and the duties of man both moral and religious”. James told
his “fellow believers” to consider those among them who “stray
away from that which is true”.
The
verse continues, “and one convert him;” James added, “and
one” or “a certain one of James' readers ” “convert
him” which means “transitions, turns, causes to return and
brings back the one who strays”. James went on to refer to the
person who engages the one in “error” and “causes that person
to turn back” to the “truth”.
When
we consider these words of James, we understand there is the
possibility of a person “straying” from the “truth”
and living in “error”. We are to be aware of those who
follow this path, and attempt to bring them back to Jesus' truth in
every way possible. All of us are subject to “go astray”,
and when we do, it should be a comfort to us that every person who
follows Jesus Christ knows what to do when this happens. Rather than
condemn a person for being in “error”, we should seek to
“convert” them, and when we do, we will comply with James'
exhortation.
Next
time we shall finish the book of James and see what happens when a
person “converts the sinner
from the error of his way”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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