This is the last command of the book. It is to “know”. James last command to his Jewish brothers scattered around the world was to know. He wanted them to know the gravity of the loss of a soul.
Many struggle with a lost relative, spouse or child and read expectantly for a three point plan to reverse their loved one’s path. But it is not there. The book of James ends without explaining how to “bring them back” (James 5:19).
But James connects this passage to the previous paragraph by using the same word here to save (sōzō) the individual from the effects of sin as he did previously for the effects of illness. There were six other words in Greek that he could have used for healing a person. But instead of using a word which means to cure, James used the word to save.
- When we are “raised up” (egeirō) we are saved from the effects of illness, including even our eventual death.
- When a person “turns back” (epistrephō) they are saved from the effects of sin, including eternal damnation.
The same God, who is in charge of death (Matthew 6:27), is also in charge of faith (Ephesians 2:8).
Folks, if there is a single core message of the book of James it is that God is God and we are not. We can’t, on our own, save a person either from death or from damnation.
Instead we are like Elijah, who showed that neither the quality or quantity of prayer is important -- only our persistence (Luke 18:1-8).
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