Welcome to Day 2132 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

James – Wisdom Is Faith in Action 14– Patience In Correction – Daily Wisdom

Putnam Church message – 01/16/2022

James: Wisdom Is Faith in Action – Patience in Correction

Today is the fourteenth and final message in our series on the Proverbs of the New Testament, better known as the letter of James. Last we continued in James 5:13-18, focusing on Patience through Payer. As we conclude this section on patience, we want to learn how to have Patience in Correction. James 5:19-20  My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. Lifeguards who have rescued swimmers from drowning, know better than most that victims tend to fight their rescuers in the hysteria of that terrifying moment. They will even pull their rescuers under the water in an uncontrollable panic. Logical reasoning should tell them that if the lifeguard goes under, so does their only hope of surviving. But a drowning person isn’t thinking reasonably. Unfortunately, the same is often true when a believer attempts to rescue those floundering spiritually because their faith has suffered a shipwreck, and they have gone overboard. The late well-known Professor Howard Hendricks of Dallas Theological Seminary, tells the story of a young man who, after straying far from the Lord, was finally brought back by the help of a friend who loved him unconditionally. When he was fully restored, Dr. Hendricks asked him what it felt like when he was straying from God. The man answered, “It seemed like I was being pulled farther and farther out to sea, into deep water. And all my friends were standing on the shoreline hurling accusations at me about justice, condemnation, and sin.” Then he added, “But one Christian brother swam out to get me, and he wouldn’t let me go. I fought him, but he withstood my fighting. Finally, he grasped me, put a life jacket around me, and pulled me to shore. By the grace of God, he was the single reason I was restored—the man refused to let me go.” James doesn’t want us to let anybody go, either. Throughout his letter, he stresses the need for the faith that works. For example, he asks, “If you say you believe as you should, why do you behave like you shouldn’t?” Now, at the climactic conclusion of the book, James instructs us on how to deal with those who believe like they should, but behave like they shouldn’t. James has developed the theme that real faith produces genuine patience for the last several verses. But genuine patience is different from passive permissiveness. Under the excuse of “patiently waiting on the Lord,” Christians frequently stand back and “patiently” watch a fellow Christian sink deeper into sin. But, don’t forget that genuine patience is part of the more prominent theme of James’s book—Wisdom Is Faith in Action. We’ve already seen that genuine faith manifests itself in various kinds of works: in stability (1:1-27), acts of love (2:1- 3:12), humility (3:13-5:6), and patience (5:7-20). So, when handling straying saints, the genuine work prompted by real faith includes prayer and intervention. Throughout the process of confrontation and restoration, we should maintain a disposition of patient reliance on God. In these last two verses, James addresses four practical questions. First, is there ever a time when one Christian ought to intervene and deal with the sin of another fellow Christian? Second, at what point should a Christian’s patience run out? Third, is the correction of a straying saint solely a work of the Holy Spirit, or should we step forward and become part of the solution too? Fourth, if so, how can we do this without appearing legalistic or judgmental? Didn’t James condemn this kind of judgmental attitude earlier in his book? With these questions in mind, let’s examine his answer. I read a true story about a teenager who took a metalworking course in summer school. In the process of that course, a tiny particle of metal flew into his eye and became embedded in his cornea. He didn’t realize it at the time because it was so small. But his eye was irritated, and it became obvious that there was a problem. His parents took him to an ophthalmologist, who quickly discovered the metal speck. So, that physician calmly rested their son’s chin on a brace, numbed the cornea, and extracted the metal particle carefully. It was agonizing for the parents to watch. They could hear the long prong give off a high-pitched ping-ping-ping as he tried to pluck that speck of metal from the young man’s eye. (The parents had to look away, it was just too difficult to watch.) Thankfully, the skilled physician removed the speck with delicate care and patience. That story reminded me of our lesson in the Sermon on the Mount series in Matthew 7:3-5. Jesus instructed removing specks from the eyes of those whose sight has been blurred by sin: “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First, get rid of the log in your own eye; then, you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” You see, some people feel called to criticize! Even when their own life is chaos, and their own perspective is clouded by sin, they think they must point out even the most minor flaws of others. Jesus condemns this kind of hypocritical judgment of others. Like his older brother, James spoke out against those who hypocritically judge, slander, and speak against a brother or sister in Christ (James 4:11-12). In light of these warnings, we must never hastily rush into the practice of spiritual eye surgery. Only one qualified with a clear vision, refined by patience, and equipped with wisdom and humility should take on this task. Galatians 6:1-2 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Given these essential warnings and understanding the seriousness of our responsibility for straying saints, we can work through James’s principles for handling wayward Christians. Let’s follow James’s reasonable instruction in 5:19. First, James addresses the situation of believers who have gone astray. He’s not talking about leading unbelievers to salvation, but restoring Christians who have strayed from the truth. We get our English word “planet” from the Greek word for “wandered” planaö. Unlike stars, which kept their place in relation to other heavenly lights, planets appeared to drift and wander through the night sky. In the same way, these individuals have drifted and wandered from the straight path. The person James has in mind wanders from the truth alêtheia. That refers to the complete body of Christian truth contained in Scripture. People can stray from the truth in a couple of ways. They can wander doctrinally; that is, they can err in their beliefs. But they can also wander from the truth practically, failing to align their practice with their profession. In either case, the response of healthy believers should be the same: we should turn those who have strayed back to the truth. The word for “brought back” epistrepho means turning around and heading in the opposite direction—a 180-degree reversal. You may recall that Jewish believers viewed life as heading in one of two trajectories, the path of life or the path of death. Believers growing in faith and good works were on the way of life. But unbelievers were on the way to death. James says that some believers, after making progress along the way of life, can stray, heading in the wrong direction. Such people need firm yet gracious intervention to avoid the discipline of God described previously in 5:15-16. Not everybody has the right attitude for turning wayward saints back toward the right way. I read Galatians 6:1-2 earlier. It clearly describes the attitude one must approach straying saints: Did you catch it? The person who intervenes in the life of a wayward brother or sister in Christ must be spiritual, gentle, wise, and humble. The fleshly, harsh, and arrogant person has no business trying to rescue the wandering—though they are often the ones who try to do so. I’m deeply concerned that we too often take upon ourselves the practice of digging specks from other people’s eyes without first considering whether we’re qualified for the task. If a person relishes confronting a believer, they probably shouldn’t. Furthermore, if the one facing the wandering soul assumes a holier-than-thou attitude, the intervention will do more harm than good. That approach pushes the speck deeper rather than gently plucking it out. Let’s move on to verse 20. James assures us that we will have restored the person to the right path if we succeed at our rescue operation through patience, humility, gentleness, and perseverance. He then describes the wholesome and encouraging results of this restoration. First, James writes, “Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death.” Given the Jewish Christian background of this letter, it seems most likely that “death” here refers to the “way of death”—a dark, “death-like” existence. In early Christian training, life was viewed as following one of two paths, as summed up in the opening line of the first-century Jewish Christian writing, the Didache: “There are two paths: the path of life and the path of death, and there is a vast difference between these two paths” (Didache 1.1). The Greek word for “path” or “way” hodos refers either to a literal road or figuratively to a lifestyle. In 5:20, James again uses the hodos to describe the wayward Christian’s lifestyle as “the error of their way” hodos. So, James has the figurative use of the term in mind—not physical death but a lifestyle characterized by death. However, some unrepentant sins could lead to sickness and physical death (5:14-16), which is viewed as the final destination of those who continue down the “way of death” without turning around in repentance. Second, James continues, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” This has a double application. Not only does a person’s confession of sin bring forgiveness for the wayward path they took, but it also prevents that person from continuing farther along that dead-end path of sin and death. The damage the rebellious Christian’s personal sins have done and could still do will be covered. Peter uses the same term for “cover” kalyptö when he says in 1 Peter 4:8, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” The intervention of loving Christians through prayer, patience, and perseverance will not only save that person from accumulating more sin and making a greater mess of this life, but also spare the church from the damage done by a wayward brother or sister. James doesn’t fudge on his claim that real faith produces genuine patience, but sometimes we must step forward and accompany our prayers for straying saints with deliberate words and actions. In other words, patience is not an excuse for passivity; faith is not an excuse for inaction. If James has taught us anything, he has clarified that Wisdom Is Faith in Action. If you’re considering whether to get involved in the life of a straying believer with a word of encouragement, relief, or correction, check your motives first. Make sure you’re acting out of genuine love for that person. Be sure you’ve immersed yourself in God’s Word and prayer. Finally, be ready to apply patience as you endure a long process. Most wayward saints don’t suddenly turn around with a tap on the shoulder. It can take a long, long time. What is the application for Watching Out for the Wayward? I think it’s fitting that James ends his letter with an appeal to watch out for wayward saints. His entire letter has been a plea to make certain outward actions accompany inward convictions, that our words match our deeds, that real faith produces genuine works of stability (1:1-27), love (2:1-3:12), humility (3:13-5:6), and patience (5:7-20). He has involved himself in the most intimate areas of our lives. He has done it with a spirit of conviction and care. James’s entire letter exemplified his own call to restore wayward saints to the path of life. His finale addressed to the original readers could just as easily be addressed to us: “I’ve come to your rescue in this letter and have invested my time in giving my thoughts to you in these specific areas where you were going astray. Now you do the same.” This final appeal involves three essential principles we need to keep in mind. First, there are occasions when we’re involved in removing specks from others’ eyes, helping those who have strayed. Just as we need to be ready to receive correction when we’ve lost our way, we must be prepared to correct others. This isn’t a sign of contempt or hatred but compassion and love. Second, the entire process must be under the direction and control of the Holy Spirit. It can’t be a fleshly ego trip. It can’t be something prompted by pride, but rather by humility bathed in gentleness. There’s no room for haste, rage, or vengeance. The fruit of the Spirit must dominate. Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Third, the motive and attitude is as important as the action. Sometimes those whom we correct will respond negatively—even harshly—to our efforts. But they should never be able to condemn our hearts. When our attitudes consist of constant compassion, the repentant saint who returns from their straying will eventually see that they had been loved all along. Remember that when you “intrude” into a person’s wayward ways, you save that person from a path of destruction. Admittedly, one of the least pleasant aspects of ministry is confronting those who stray. It’s not popular. It’s not glamorous. It’s not easy. And it’s not always received well. Frequently it leads to misunderstanding when the heart is not prepared by God to change. But it’s biblical, and necessary, and when the Spirit works repentance in the person’s heart, it can be a great blessing to both the one who corrects and the one we have corrected. We have completed our James; Wisdom is Faith in Action series. I pray you have learned from these lessons and enjoyed them as much as I have.  I believe it is essential that we study God’s Word systematically.  This method prevents us from cherry-picking verses to fit our theology.  I struggled with which book to explore next; there are so many I would like to study with you. So I have decided that we will begin a new series next week as we start through the Good News, according to John.  It is a riveting story centered on the Life of Christ. By the end of this extended series, you will know more about the life of John than ever before, but more importantly, you will have a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ than you ever thought possible.  Next week our lesson will be on “Who is John?” I would encourage you to consider what you think you may currently know about the Apostle John, Jesus’s closest disciple. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!