OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC
Introduction: Some of you may know that “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” is based on Homer’s Odyssey. In fact, the movie “The Odyssey” is playing in theaters right now. As we come to the end of the Book of James, it has been amazing to see how this series has challenged, convicted, and encouraged so many of us. As I mentioned when we began this series, I’ve preached on James before; but, in preaching it again, the message hasn’t changed, but the messenger has. I have a much greater appreciation for this book than before. In these final two verses, James is giving us a grim warning regarding someone wandering from the truth. Our message is titled “OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU.”
James 5 (page #1854) 19 “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”
Overall Background: This is a strange ending for a letter. To be honest, it is kind of anti-climactic. So far, James has been encouraging the believers to become obedient to the Word. He has been challenging them to live out their faith. All that has been very helpful and positive. But now in closing, he brings up a somewhat dark, disheartening, negative, and even questionable subject. It is the issue of backsliding. Now we have all heard that word “backsliding” or “backslidden.” What does that mean? = It means “someone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ and has become a new creation, goes back to his/her old ways.” In other words, “when a child of God starts living like a child of the Devil, they are “backsliding” or “backslidden.”
Now let me say something before we start looking at the text we just read and before we try to understand the reason for backsliding, the remedy for backsliding, and the repercussions of backsliding – BEFORE YOU CAN BACKSLIDE, YOU HAVE TO FRONT SLIDE – I believe that there are a good number of people who claim to be backslidden or think they are backslidden, when they’ve never “front-slidden.” They were never saved to begin with. YOU CANNOT RESTORE SOMETHING YOU NEVER HAD.
For e.g. Take for example a vintage car or a classic. People try to restore them to their mint condition. I cannot take an old cast iron stove and try to restore it to a classic car. That is ridiculous! So also, there are a lot of people who appear to have walked with God at one time and now seem to be living for the Devil; there is good chance that those people never walked with God; those people were never saved to begin with.
REACHING THEM IS NOT A MATTER OF RESTORATION. IT IS MATTER OF EVANGELISM.
Application: There might be someone here right now in that predicament. You are not backslidden. You need to get saved. You may be Christianized, but what you need is to come to Christ with nothing in your hands. You need to look to Him as your only hope for forgiveness and eternal life. It’s not about the good things you’ve done or the church you belong to or all the bad you have avoided. Do you remember a time in your life when you placed your trust in Christ alone for your salvation? If not, you need to get saved.
Now the passage before us is not to someone who is lost but someone who has backslidden. How do we know that? James 5 (page #1854) 19 “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth…”First and foremost, James is talking to the believers – he addresses them as “brethren.” Then he goes on and says, “if anyone among you.” This means that this person is a brother or a sister in Christ.
James gives us 3 VERY important facts about BACKSLIDING IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:
I. REASON FOR BACKSLIDING – WANDERING FROM THE TRUTH
19 “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth,” – “Wanders” is the Greek word “planao” that pictures someone who is lost in the mountains.
For e.g. Few years ago, I was hiking in the Appalachian Mountains with Camp Living Water. At one point, the Camp Director said that we are going to go off the trail and climb the side of the mountain. Now, this is not Arizona or New Mexico. This is Appalachia and it is a dense forest. At one point we had to slow down for some of the campers, and we could no longer see the group ahead. Our group had some leaders in the back as well and I knew that we were safe, but it made me realize how easily people can get lost. They stop here. They stop there. They wander around for a moment and before they know it, they are lost. The farther they get from the trail, the harder it is to get back. I asked the director if people get lost often, and he said: “not in our camp because we stay in the safer areas but every year there are a few who get lost and die.”
19 “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth…” What is this “truth?” This truth is first “doctrine” = right beliefs. Right beliefs about God – He is one God in three persons – Father, Son and Spirit. Not three but one. Through Jesus Christ He has reached down to us. Fully God, Fully Man. Born of a Virgin. Lived a perfect, sinless life for 33 ½ years. Then He was betrayed by one of His own disciples. Although He could have fought back and ended the entire creation with a snap of His finger, He voluntarily gave His life as a ransom for our sins. He took our sins upon His back and died. He was laid in the grave for three days, but the grave could not hold the author of life. On the third day He rose again and now He lives forevermore as my intercessor and my High Priest. One day He is coming again, and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Lord. There is more but that in a nutshell is DOCTRINAL TRUTH.
But there is also BEHAVIORAL TRUTH. God’s instructions on how we should live. James has been talking about this throughout the letter. Here are just a few examples from James 1:
- Truth about the reality of trials – James 1 (page #1849) 2 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
- Truth about the importance of faith – James 1 (page #1849) 5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”
- Truth about the dangers of temptation – James 1 (page #1849) 12 “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
- Truth about the devastation of anger – James 1 (page #1849) 19 “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
I can go on and on. Truth about the goodness of God, the sovereignty of God, the grace of God, the providence of God, etc. These are the Behavioral Truths. You and I can take a vacation from work. We can get away from the daily grind. But we dare not wander away from the truth. Christians backslide when they start wandering from the truth. Because the World is constantly bombarding us with its lies. But when you have a steady diet of the Word of God/Truth of God, then you make decisions based on Wisdom and not impulse. Even more, Truth is a Person. Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” When you are daily fellowshipping and walking with Jesus Christ, then you can live your life by faith and not by sight. Take your eyes off Christ and you start sinking/backsliding like Peter.
For e.g. Ask a rancher, “How does a cow get lost?” As it is nibbling on a tuft of grass, it sees more and more through the hole in the fence. Before you know it, she has found a way through the fence and is now on the other side and it is just a matter of time.
Application: I have a feeling that every time I have used the word ‘backsliding’ or ‘backslidden’ that someone’s face or name has come to your mind. Someone you know who used to walk with the Lord at one time, but now they are living like a lost, hell-bound person. They may be caught in some sin. They may be dealing with some pain. They may be dealing with overwhelming thoughts. They may be deconstructing their faith. You are concerned about them. You are ashamed of them because they are a bad testimony for Christ. You are even confused about how they can do what they do when they are supposed to be saved. You wonder what happened.
I WANT TO REMIND YOU – NONE OF US ARE IMMUNE TO BACKSLIDING – YOU AND I ARE JUST ONE MISSED DEVOTIONAL TIME/ONE MISSED CHURCH SERVICE/ONE LIE FROM THE DEVIL AWAY FROM BACKSLIDING.
AS A CHRISTIAN, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE KNOW THE TRUTH, STAND IN THE TRUTH, AND WALK IN THE TRUTH.
Are you walking in the Truth this morning?
II. REMEDY FOR BACKSLIDING – FELLOW BELIEVER WHO CARES
James 5 (page #1854) 19 “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back…”
Background: Here James is dealing with the second fact of backsliding – Who will step up and help? Before we can blame the person for his/her actions or punt the responsibility to God in the heavens or even to the pastor at church, James says – “one of you should reach out.” Case in point: Just earlier, Elijah prayed for a whole nation of backsliders. He was a man of God and a man of prayer. He did not have to, but he did because he cared about Israel. God turned their drought and send rain upon them. Here is a fact that many of us do not like – MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITY. We are such an independent society where it is “my way,” “my life,” “my work,” “my freedom,” “my time,” and “my personal space.” To not do anything while a brother or sister is falling into sin is like standing on a corner and watching a child about to get run over by a car and say: “that’s none of my business.” What would a father or a mother do if their child is about to jump in the street? They would do everything possible to stop them and turn them around.
For e.g. Many years ago, Ernest Hemingway wrote his novel about the Spanish Civil War titled: “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” What many people don’t realize is that he got his title from a famous line by John Donne (one of my favorite poets) in “Meditation XVII. It says:
No man is an island, entire of itself.
Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were.
Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls it tolls for thee.
John Donne (Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London) lived in the 16th century England. In those days, they would ring the church bells when someone died. Donne says “don’t send someone to find out who died. We are interconnected. Every time someone dies, a little bit of you dies as well.”
Application: Every time we hear of someone who has drifted from the Lord. Don’t say: “At least me and mine are okay.” A little bit of you has drifted from the Lord as well. Look around and see churches that started dying when they turned in on themselves. It is a death knell when we stop caring for the lost and the backslidden. That’s how a church is supposed to be – we care enough to get involved in one another’s life. We care enough to reach out and help them. That is what Clearview is called to do. This is not a church of we four and no more.
By the way, let me give you 2 warnings when you reach out to someone who has backslidden:
- When you try to help someone, don’t think that they will always receive it well. I have had people get angry with me. I have had people stop talking with me. I have received emails before. I have been misrepresented and maligned because I confronted someone with the truth. THERE IS A RISK WHEN YOU REACH OUT TO HELP THE WANDERER.
- When you try to help someone, do it with humility. Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
Application: When was the last time you reached out to someone who had backslidden?
Now we come to the grimmest part of the letter.
III. REPERCUSSIONS OF BACKSLIDING – DEATH AND MULTIPLICATION OF SINS
James 5 (page #1854) 20 “let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”
Background: Now we come to one of the most debated passages in the New Testament. What does it mean that if we turn around a backsliding believer who has been living in sin that you will “save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins?” In other words, if you don’t reach out and stop a believer from backsliding, death is coming and sins will be multiplied. What does this mean? First and foremost, let me remind you that this is not spiritual death. We are talking about a believer who has eternal life. If it wasn’t eternal life, then it would not be eternal life.
Listen very carefully: If a Christian lingers too long at THE DOORSTEP of sin, he/she takes on a death like existence. A Christian is one who has the joy of the Lord in their hearts. They have been set free from bonds of sin and death. They are a new creation in Christ. But if they go back into the world, they are the most miserable of all people. They cannot enjoy the Christian life, and they cannot enjoy the world. Now let me take it a step further: In some cases, when a believer continues to go down the dark alley of sin, there is a place where God says, “It is time to come home.” He says: “You are better off up here then down there, come on home.”
Application: When you and I step in the gap and help a backslider, we might just be preventing a death like existence or even a premature death in that person’s life.
Furthermore, not only you “will save a soul from death” but also “cover a multitude of sins.” Sin is like an open sore. The more it is left to itself, the more it grows and festers and gets infected. When you reach out to someone who is backsliding and you turn them around, you are covering and promoting the healing of many open sores of sins.
Application: A person wants to walk out on their marriage, and you step in to intervene, you might help the rebellion that might happen in those children. A person is falling into some addiction, and you step in to intervene. You might help prevent some abuse that might come in the future. I can go on and on. It’s like taking a wet blanket and throwing it on a fire. You and I become sin prevention agents in this world.
Listen to what Jesus said – Matthew 18 12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, (The Greek word “planao” is the same as in James 5:19) does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
For e.g. Howard Hendricks tells the story of a young man who had strayed away from the Lord but was finally brought back by the help of a friend who loved him. Dr. Hendricks asked him: “How did it feel?” He replied: “It felt like I was out at sea, in deep water and all my friends were at the shore hurling biblical accusations about justice, penalty and wrong. But there was one who actually swam out there and would not let me go. I fought him but he pushed aside my fighting and grasped me, put a life jacket around me and took me to the shore. By the grace of God, he was the reason. He would not let me go.”
Invitation: Are you saved? Are you reaching others with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you reaching a brother and sister who is saved but wandering from the truth?
Illustration: Robert Robinson grew up in a Christian home. His parents were poor. His father died when he was just 8. His mother sent him to London at age 14 to apprentice as a barber. Unfortunately, he fell into bad company. He got saved under the preaching of George Whitfield whom he had come to heckle. At age 22, in 1757, he wrote the hymn – “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” True to the words of the song – “prone to wander” – Robert strayed from the Lord and went back to his old ways. He even wandered away from the truth of the gospel. Although it is not totally verifiable, one day, much later in life, as he was riding a stagecoach, a young lady was humming the tune of the very song. She asked him whether he had ever heard of it. To which, he confessed that he was the writer. Thirty years after he had written the song, he returned to God by hearing the words of his own song. This could be your return as well or of someone who needs to come back to God.