The Lost Among Us part 1 Their Condition

We'll take your Bible and turn with me to the book of James, James chapter 5. This morning we will be in verses 19 through 20, James chapter 5. We are wrapping up our series, Good Works Flow from Good Faith. We have had a good time in the book of James, very practical, very eye-opening. I think it has helped many of us understand our experiences in the past and it's prepared us for the future. I think it's a great picture of how true born-again Christian lives their life.

Now I said as we started in verses 13 through 18, that section that we dealt with on prayer, I said that we are dealing with some verses that are not necessarily controversial but difficult. Some have made them controversial. Now verses 19 through 20 are separate from verses 13 through 18, but they are difficult to deal with. They are difficult to interpret. There have been misunderstandings in dealing with these verses, misinterpretations, and even people have mishandled these two verses.

Now I don't stand here as an authority, but yet I have done enough study, I believe, to help us accurately understand what James is trying to communicate with these two verses as he is wrapping up this letter to these Christians who were scattered because of the persecution there in Jerusalem. Now I cannot help but relate to some personal experience of mine before we really dive into these verses. What I mean is this. Verses like this have caused me in ministry to get into hot water.

What I mean is there have been people who have misunderstood the work of conversion and walking with God and real Christianity, and when we get into verses like these, verses 19 and 20, and so many other places in Scripture, a lot of people are confused. And when I have preached messages, much like we are going to have this morning, I have had people accuse me of heresy. I have had people accuse me that I believe in losing your salvation. No, I do not. I do not believe that any man, any woman, or any young person can lose what God gives. When God saves, He saves today and tomorrow and for all of eternity.

I have had people ask me if I believe that people need to get saved again. No, I don't believe people need to get saved but one time. The new birth is a one-time experience. There are a lot of times people in the lives of the church who make these different decisions to try to attempt to be right with God, but I only believe someone needs to be saved once. I have had people ask me if I believe or accuse me of believing in sinless perfection. I don't believe in sinless perfection either. I sin every day. I sin more than I want to.

And as a matter of fact, when we study books like James and we study books like 1 and 2 Timothy, we learn that Christians do struggle and we've learned on Sunday nights that this young pastor in Ephesus, Timothy, he really struggled. And there were others in the life of the church who struggled as well. Now what am I trying to show you? There are places in scripture that are difficult to understand and not only that, there are portions of scripture that will run contrary to what we have been taught and what we believe based on tradition and based on what other people have taught us in the past. Now what's the issue with these verses?

Some people believe that these verses, verses 19 and 20, deal with Christians who are backslidden. But yet there are some believe that these verses are about the lost. And there are some people that struggle to rectify these two different positions. Now how are we going to deal with these verses this morning? We're going to deal with these verses by looking at the text. What I mean by looking at the text, we're going to look at the words, the phrases, and let the text tell us what the text means. Then we're going to look at other texts in the scripture. If we see how Jesus used these same words, it sheds light on what James means.

Let me give you an example, let me give you a fundamental principle in understanding scripture. Scripture always helps us understand other scripture. If our interpretation of James contradicts Matthew, then we are incorrect. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the apostle, so many other writers there in the New Testament, they all come together to give us proper understanding. Scripture always helps us understand scripture. So we're going to look at the text, and then we're going to look at other places of scripture, and then we're going to also look at context. The whole book, what is James trying to do with this letter?

And context helps us understand. And I think when we get through these verses, which we will not get through them today, I thought originally, earlier in the week, that we would, but I think we need to take a little time and we're going to look at these two verses in two different parts. I think we need to see what James is trying to communicate and what the Lord would want us to see because it is very needed with where we are today. So I'll put the title of the message on the screen for us. The title of the message is "The Lost Among Us, Part 1." And we're going to look at their condition. The Lost Among Us, Part 1, their condition.

And I've given you the main truths that we're going to look at that help us understand what James is trying to teach us. We're going to be in verses 19 and 20. I'll read you the scripture, read along with me in your copy of God's Word. "James says, 'My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.'" Now you see on the screen, we're going to look at number one, their straying. Number two, their sinning. And if you're taking notes, I trust that you do.

Right there with point number two, you can write down the word "condition." Then number three, their error. And then number four, their death. This will help us understand the condition of the ones that James is writing about because that is very much needed in understanding these verses. Now before we get into verses 19 and 20, I want us to notice some information. First of all, there is a natural transition here. There always has natural transitions. And we saw that beginning in verse 13. Verse 13 was a transition into prayer.

Verse 13 through 18, James talks about prayer, but in these verses, he talks about prayer in different circumstances. Let me show you a transition. Verse 13, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray." What is the subject? Prayer with personal suffering as we relate to other people. Any transitions in verse 13, "Is anyone among you sick?" What? "Let him pray." There are transitions in the text. In verse 19, there is a natural transition with the language to differentiate these verses from verses 13 through 18. What does that tell us? James is just giving us a conclusion to the letter.

That's important for us to see because James is really putting a bow on the package. Also it's important for us to notice who is being addressed and who is the focus. Go back to the verse. He says, "My brethren." Now he's writing to the Christians within these fellowships. That is who is being addressed. But the focus is away from the brothers and he says, "My brethren, if any among you." That is the focus. There are some among the brethren who have strayed or wandered away.

And we need to understand this because James is taking all that he's been teaching in this book and he's bringing it to a head and he's giving them some, I guess, last minute instruction as to how to apply the entire book. So let's dive right into these verses and let's look at number one, their strain. Number one, their strain. Go back to verse 19. "My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth." Now most translations read stray or wonder. The King James uses the word error. Now in the original it reads, "If any among you strays from the truth," which means to go astray or to wonder.

Really the definition in the original is very simplistic. What is he saying? "If any among you wanders away, strays away, or errors away from the truth." It's very obvious to understand the definition of this word, straying. Now in the scriptures, this phrase is sometimes used to describe one wondering physically, but mostly it describes one wondering spiritually. Now I said we're going to let text interpret, help us interpret text. I want to refer you to some scripture. I want you to write these down for your later study. Matthew chapter 18 verses 12 through 13, the Gospel says this. "What do you think?

If any man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is what? Straying." There's a parable that talks about one who has lost and is straying from their proper in their relationship with God, the one that needs to be saved. Verse 13, "And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I will say to you, he rejoices over it more than the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish." That is an example of where this word is used in other places.

Another one in Hebrews chapter 3 verse 10. If you would write that verse down, Hebrews chapter 3 verse 10. I go back up to verse 8, into verse 7. "Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, as in the days of trial in the wilderness where your Father has tried me by testing me and saw my works for forty years. Therefore, I was angry with this generation and I said, they always go astray in their heart." There is that same word for "strain" and it exemplifies or teaches us about spiritual going astray, spiritual wandering. Now we need to notice something.

What are these individuals in James wondering from? This is not something that is physical. This is something that is spiritual. The text says that the word "truth" here, they are wondering from the truth. And this word "truth" means the Word of God, the truth of God, even the gospel of God. They are wondering from, erring from, straying from the totality of God's message. Now it is very important for us to see that many around us are doing exactly what James is talking about. Go back to the verse. "My brethren, if Him among you strays from the truth." What is He saying?

Brothers and sisters, there are some among you, they are wondering from the very Word and the gospel of God. And it is important for us to see that just like in James' day, there are people in our day who are wondering from the truth. I'll show you what this looks like. You all know that for ten years I did student ministry. It's what God called me to do and it was a very productive and good time in my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world. But you know when you are in student ministry you always deal with those who graduate from high school and we have these terms we use.

We say they graduate from the church, they graduate from God, they go off and they go off to the workforce or they go off to college and they graduate, they move on and they graduate from church and they graduate from the things of God. You know what those people are doing? Exactly what James is talking about. It doesn't matter if they go to a major college university, it doesn't matter if they go to the local junior college or if they go into the workplace, when they leave the church and they leave the people of God and they leave the teaching of God and the work of God here on earth, what they are doing is they are showing that they are straying from the truth.

I was talking a while back to a particular friend of mine who lives in a much bigger city and he was telling me how he used to attend a particular church and they were starting other churches and their goal was to reach the generation that has left the church, they have left the church with the steeple on top, they have left the church with the hymnals in the seats, they have left the church with pews and the church is, you know they are coming up with church in a new package, contemporary music and no steeple on top of the building and their whole goal, their whole emphasis is to reach those that the traditional church has not reached, you know what they are trying to do?

Go after people who are straying. That's all they are doing and they are trying to repackage church to try to go after those who have graduated so to speak and they have gone astray. And so what James is saying is, look brothers and sisters, they are sung among you, they are straying from the truth. Notice what he says, the word of God, the truth of God, the totality of God's message, even the gospel. Number two, I want us to see their sinning, their sinning for this remainder of the message, we are going to be in verse 20, what does he say? Let him know that the one who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death.

And now he starts talking about their sinning. See earlier he says, if anyone among you strays from the truth, now he says, let him know that he who turns a sinner. What we see is their sinning. Now the King James says, converteth a sinner, but every other translation uses the word sinner. It's really obvious, it's really simple. I want us to notice the two things right here, I'd like you to write these down. First notice they are a sinner in action. They are a sinner in action. Go back to the scripture, my brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, that is action.

And one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner, what am I trying to show you? They are wondering, they are straying from the truth, and they are sinning in their action. They are leaving the word, they are leaving God's word, they are leaving God's people, they are leaving the gospel, and they are a sinner in action. See the teenager who can just leave in church, he's straying from the truth and the truth of God. But second, this is where I really want to go with this, they are a sinner in condition. Go back to the verse, let him know that he who turns a sinner, they are a sinner in their condition.

This word sinner is used all throughout the New Testament to describe the unregenerate and the lost. I'm going to give you several scripture references, I don't necessarily want you to turn to them, I'd love for you to write them down. But we see this in Matthew chapter 9, in verse 13, and listen to what the gospel says. Matthew chapter 9 verse 13, I'll go back to verse 12, but when he heard this he said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick, that go and learn what this means. I desire compassion and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call right the righteous, but what sinners, what is Jesus saying?

I have come to call what? The lost, the sinner." That word is used to describe the unregenerate, the one who was lost. Luke chapter 7, write that verse down. Luke chapter 7 starting in verse 36 and verse 37, notice what it says, "Now one of the Pharisees was questioning him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table, and behold there was a woman in the city who was a," what? "A sinner." A sinner. One translation says she was immoral. What is that describing? That is describing someone who is unregenerate, who is lost, and who is in need of a Savior. That is describing what?

"Their condition." I can name you some more, but I will list them for you. Chapter 15 verse 7 in the Gospel of Luke. Chapter 15 verse 10, chapter 18 verse 13, what is it talking about? Using the word sinner to describe the unregenerate, the lost. What about what Paul says in Romans chapter 5 verse 8? "While we were sinners," what? "Christ died for us." What is he talking about? The one who is unregenerate and the one who is lost. What about Paul in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 15? "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world," to what? "To save sinners." What am I trying to show you?

All throughout the New Testament, this word is used to describe the unregenerate, the lost, the one who is in need of a Savior, and what am I trying to show you? Their condition. They are a sinner in the condition of a sinner. They are lost and without Christ. I believe. Look what the Scripture says. Let him know that he who turns a sinner. They are a sinner in their action because they have left the truth and they are a sinner in their condition because this word is used to describe sinners all throughout the New Testament, not just in the Gospels. Talking about this word, I like what John MacArthur says.

This term "sinner" frequently describes hardened unbelievers, those who openly, defiantly disregard God's law, those whose evil character is apparent to everyone, and those whose wickedness is common knowledge. They are sinners. They are sinning. They are sinning in their action and they are sinning in their condition. See it's very important for us to see this. It's very important for us to understand what these words mean. It's very important for us to cut through what other people would say and just simply divide the text because we see they are straying sinners.

And look, does not understanding the language help us understand what James is trying to say? I mean look, our sons and our daughters, our mothers and our fathers, look, we need to understand the scripture, to understand what our sons and our daughters, our mothers, our fathers, our brothers, our sisters and our friends and our neighbors are doing when they leave the church. Some of you are not familiar with the old Bible writer, preacher and pastor A.W. Tozer. He said that most people in the church make the mistake of starting with man and moving towards God. He says you start with God, you start with the Word and you move towards man.

And see, if we start with the Word and what God says and we move towards all of these people that we know, it sheds a new light on it. Because all these people that have graduated from God, they have gone out, they don't come to church anymore according to what James is saying. They are straying from the truth and they are in a condition of being a sinner. And I want to pause here to tell you, I think that our Southern Baptist Convention has made a horrific mistake in handling the generations who have left the church. We don't have to repackage church. We don't have to put a new facade. All we've got to do is do what James says.

Go to the text, let the text tell us what the problem is and then work in the problem. They are in a condition of being sinners. See in the convention, a lot of people in a lot of churches, they come up with all these different methods and all these different ways to try to help these types of people. I tell you one, you don't hear me mention this much, but I loathe it. It's rededication. It's not in the scripture. Now repentance is. Repentance for the saint? Yes. We are not perfect. But rededication is not.

And what that is, is you know the preacher or the evangelist, you know, just get somebody to come down and recommit something that they don't have. James doesn't talk about rededication here. That's manmade. It does not address the root problem. Because what does he say, my brethren, if anyone among you leaves the truth. And then he goes, let him know that he who turns a sinner, that is the exact same word that Jesus used and Paul used to describe those who were lost. Number three, I want us to see their error. Their error. And then through verse 20, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way.

The English standard version uses wondering. All of the other translations that we refer to use error. The amplified, I like to read it sometimes, it reads his evil course, all helping us see the same thing. Now this word in verse 20, which is translated error. Now get this, it is in the noun form. Now this same word in verse 19 is in the verb form. That means in verse 19, he's communicating action. My brethren, if anyone among you strays, that is their action. But now in verse 20, it is the noun form of the word. What is he saying? Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error, they have embraced something. What is a noun?

A noun is a person, place or a thing. They have embraced something that is tangible. They are in error. That's what James is trying to show us. They have adopted an erroneous theology and an erroneous lifestyle. Just as the sinner is in a condition or a place, also those who are in this error are in a condition or in a place. They have adopted some thing. It is error. You see the difference? Jesus deals with this in Luke chapter 6 verse 46. Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say? What is he saying? You are in error. You are erroring in action, but you have embraced something that is error, wrong.

A wrong theology and a wrong interpretation of what the truth is. You see, it is very important for us to see that these people are in error. These people that we know, they would relate to you a profession of faith. They would relate to you a form of godliness, but yet James says they are in error. They are in a position and a place of wrong. They are in action, moving away from truth, but yet they are in a place. They are in a place and a position of error. And look, so many of us know people just like this. I have been baptized. I am a member of the church. My name is on a church roll. I did this. I mean, I have taught Sunday school.

We know people like this, but in all actuality, they are in a place of error. They have a theology and a spiritual form of godliness that is in error and they embrace it. And when you give them the truth, they revile it. And they hate it. And they don't want it. Let's continue. I want us to see number four. I want you to see their death.

Verse 20, "Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death." Now the King James reads, "Shall save a soul from death." The amplified reads, "Will save that one soul from death." The English Standard reads, "Will save his soul from death." All of these translations say the same thing. But I want us to notice a few things out of this verse. First of all, notice the word soul. Notice the word soul. Now what is this word soul? This word speaks of the entire person but specifically the inner immortal part of a person which resides in the mortal temporary body. Let me repeat that.

This word soul, it speaks to the totality of that person but yet more specifically the inner immoral part of that person that resides in the mortal temporary body. We all know this body is temporary. The older we get and we look in the mirror, we know that. I mean we see people, their health fails. What does that tell us? This body is temporary but there is a part of us that lives forever. That's what James is talking about. He's saying, "Listen, they have a soul, that part of them that lives forever." Also second, notice this word death.

Go back to the verse, "Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul." That is the eternal part of a man, what? From death. Now this word for death is used all throughout the New Testament to speak of only one thing and that is the second death or the punishment for the unrepentant sinner. You get that? This word here is used all throughout the New Testament and it always refers to the place of punishment for the unrepentant sinner, the second death. Let me give you a couple of places in scripture. You can write these down. Matthew chapter 13 verse 40. Matthew chapter 13 verse 40.

This is the wheat in the tare being explained by Jesus. He says, "Therefore, just as the tares are gathered up and burned with the fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness." What is this talking about? This is talking about the judgment. Verse 42, "And will cast them into the furnace of fire and in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." What is that? What is this death, that second death that we see in the scripture? We go on down to verse 50 and what do we see?

This is the parable of the dragnet and this is a picture of the judgment. Verse 50 in chapter 13, "And will cast them into the furnace of fire." That is the second death. We can go on into chapter 25 verses 41 and 46. We can go over into the gospel of Mark chapter 9 verses 43 through 49. Second Thessalonians verses chapter 1 verses 8 through 9. Revelation chapter 20 verses 11 through 15 and there are others that I did not mention. What am I showing you?

All of the different places where this thing death, it talks about the second death, the eternal punishment for the unrepentant one, the one who is without Christ, the sinner who is unrepentant. That's what this word death means. It is very important for us to see the fate of those who are not repentant. Their future is sealed according to James. What does he say?

"Let him know that he who turns that sinner from the error of his way will save him, his soul from death." See this tells us that our loved ones, oh those who used to sit on the pews, those that we taught Bible verses, those that would say that their names are on a church roll, they made a profession of faith, that they've been baptized, those that have gone out from us have proven that there never were of us. And that's all James is saying. They are headed towards a devil's hell. They're headed towards punishment. They're headed towards damnation. That's what this word death means. We have so many just like this.

And you know what's difficult to deal with these type of people in light of this scripture in life, but it's even more difficult than death. Oh I'll give you an example. I remember when a loved one in my family passed and it was someone that was dear to me and they did not know Christ. They had heard the gospel. They had heard a gospel witness on so many different occasions, heard the word preached, seen God transform people right before their eyes, but yet they remained stiff-necked and hard-hearted and they rejected the gospel.

And it was difficult to go to that funeral because see what I had to do was believe what the scripture said and not trust what I wanted. That's no fun. I'll never forget in light of that and dealing with that. I had a person in the church where I was attending at the time came to me and said, "I'm sorry to hear about your loss." And they said, "Well, you never know what happened in those days when they were unconscious." And in a nice way I said, "I don't believe God works that way." Now the thief on the cross, he did get saved there on his deathbed, but with the thief on the cross there is an open profession of faith.

There is an open declaration to the lordship of Christ. Christ acknowledges that and there is glory given to God in His conversion. And I believe if somebody gets saved three days before they die, they will open up their mouth and they will profess being converted and God will get glory. And see what I have to do is push away how I feel about certain people and what I want to be the truth and just let scripture tell us what scripture says. See these people who are unrepentant, what does it say? If they're not turned from this destination, this is where they are headed.

Now, for those of us who might be skeptics, as I begin to conclude, I want to give us evidence that this is speaking about the loss center. Remember I talked about confusion in dealing with this text? There are some trusted and some that I dearly look up to that believe that this talks about the struggling saint, the one who is backslidden. But I want to give us evidence as to why this is talking about the lost individual who is in the church, around the church and around these brothers and sisters. First of all, the language. The language. All I did was simply take these words and define them and not define them according to what I wanted.

All we did was look at what the key words say. The language. Just let the language tell us what the word of God says. Also suck it. I want us to see scriptural usage. Scriptural usage. What am I showing you? All throughout the New Testament these same words are used and where these words are used in different places, it sheds light on what James is trying to teach us. It is using words that are used all throughout the New Testament. So his language and the definition of these words and then also scriptural usage in other places. See, James does deal with lost in the book. James does deal with lost people all throughout the book.

We've dealt with that. So this is nothing new for James to deal with the lost. Third, the third evidence is that the tests found in the book. Remember all the tests that we encountered all throughout the book of James? Every chapter has tests. And these tests, now listen, prove who a person is. Remember chapter one, there was a test of trials and temptations. Basically what James is saying is if we're born again Christians we will face trials and that will test us. And that test proves something of its worth. Isn't that right? And see, there's the test of trials. There's the test of temptation.

There are a lot of people they would say that they love the Lord but they fall for temptation after temptation after temptation and their lives are filled with sin. James says they fail the test. Chapter two, our treatment of others of different positions in life. That's why I'll always say a man can never love God and serve God and walk victoriously with God and hate people of another race. Look down on people of another race. Why? Because James teaches us that no matter what position in life we're in, we cannot hold that. That's a test.

You show me somebody that's 70 years old and been a racist since day one and they hate people who don't look like them and according to what James says they fail the test. Chapter three, our test of speech. Also in chapter three, our test of wisdom. Remember that godly wisdom and that worldly wisdom? Remember worldly wisdom where it comes from? It's called earthly wisdom and then that wisdom which comes from above. See, when we get a new heart and the word of God is implanted into our life, we will have wisdom that comes from above. Our relationship to the world is a test in chapter three.

That's submission to the will of God for our own lives in chapter four. Also our treatment of money in chapter five. What do we see? All these are tests. James is testing the readers of this book. What am I trying to show you? These are tests of what real Christianity looks like. Good works that flow out of what? Good faith. And to me all of this is evidence that James is dealing with the lost people among them. That's why I chose the title of the message. The lost among us. Part one, their condition. Because isn't that what we see right here? Isn't that what is so obvious in these two verses? They're straying, running from the truth.

They're in a position of sin. The word is used to describe people who are in a place, a condition of being a sinner. They're in error. They have embraced error. They have embraced not just running from truth, but they have embraced error. And according to verse 20, they're headed to a devil's hell. What am I trying to show you? This is wrapping up this letter by saying, I'm showing you what real Christianity looks like. I'm showing you what good faith, what good works, practical Christian living, that it comes out of a real legitimate faith. And then what does he say as he begins to wrap up?

I want you to see that they're sung among you, they don't have it. This is their condition. And next week, we are going to wrap up verses 19 and 20 by looking at the Lost Among Us, part two, our responsibility. And I trust and pray that we can receive, listen, this eye-opening message that there are people around us and among us who don't know Christ. I'm afraid they're everywhere. And who is the Lord wanting to use to reach them? That's us. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I thank you for the truth of this message. I thank you for the truth just of the words. Lord understanding what this strain means. Lord understanding what this word sinner means.

Lord understanding what this word error means. Lord understanding and seeing what this word death means. God, all this tells me the type of people, the condition of their souls that James was concerned for.