Bible Study

The Gift of Eternal Life Berean Bible Study Course

PART III--The Way Of Serving God In Christ Jesus

F. Lesson 18--We Serve By Serving Others

14. READ: JAMES 5:19-20

a. What should we remember?

Answer: Children of God should remember that whoever turns a sinner (the one who has wandered from the Truth) from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins, (verse 20).

MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:

• Another very basic and important way that we serve God in Christ Jesus by serving others is that children of God watch out for the souls of each other.

We know that one soul is of more worth than all of the material creation of our Father. There is not enough wealth in all of the world to exchange for a soul: Matthew 16:26 (and also Mark 8:36-37): [Jesus said,] "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"

• Every child of God who knows the value of his/her own soul should labor for the salvation of all souls, and that includes those who are already children of God, because children of God can wander (stray) away from the faith because of temptation and sin:

1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

1 Timothy 6:20-21: "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith."

2 Timothy 2:14-19: "Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the Truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,' and, ‘Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.'"

• Then there are those who were converted to Christ, but whose faith is not genuine. An example of this is found in Hebrews 6:4-6:

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace."

The following are some thoughts taken from Questions and Answers, Open Forum, Volume 2, Freed-Hardeman College Lectures, by Guy N. Woods, concerning Hebrews 6:4-6:

These were Christian Jews, among whom false teachers had appeared who were telling them that Jesus was not the true Messiah but an imposter. These Christians were being told that the Messiah by Whom and through Whom they could be saved was yet to come! Many Christians were believing these false teachers, and were turning away from the only Savior Who could deliver them, and so they could not be brought to repentance--their case was hopeless. They had shared in all the blessings of the Gospel; they had been enlightened, they had tasted of the heavenly gift, they were partakers of the blessings made available to them through the Holy Spirit's revelation and they had experienced a foretaste of the joys awaiting the faithful in the world to come. To turn aside from Him Who made such things possible and to seek to be saved on the basis of some other ‘knowledge' was to renounce the Only Way of salvation, and to place themselves in a situation where there was no possible deliverance. This is not a description of the sort of apostasy which results from temptation and sin; this is an intellectual rejection and repudiation of the Lord Himself and His Cause through which alone there is salvation. Those who did these things would crucify the Son of God all over again, by proclaiming that the Messiah had not yet died, and that there was still to come a sacrifice for sins. To renounce the Christ and to seek salvation through some other ‘savior' is effectively to cut oneself off from all hope. Man may fall through weakness and ignorance and with a penitent heart/mind/soul, by confession and repentance, he may return. But, those who renounce the Savior, and seek salvation in some other fashion, sin helplessly, sin irretrievably. It is impossible to bring to repentance one who has utterly rejected the only Source of forgiveness. Their case is as Peter wrote in 2 Peter 2:20-22: "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,' and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.'"

• Some believe that to "cover over a multitude of sins" literally means "love refuses to see faults" as in Proverbs 10:12: "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."

But here, it is more than that.

Here, the thought is that when the wanderer is brought back to God, confesses and repents of his/her sins, then his/her sins will be forgiven by God--never to be remembered, or counted against him/her: Romans 4:7-8: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

• To save a soul from death (including one's own soul) and to cover over a multitude of sins is the highest service any child of God can offer to another child of God, and to the Father Himself. All else pales by comparison. We do this in many ways as we walk daily with the Lord, both for ourselves, and for others of our brethren in the family of God. The following are only a few of the ways in which we may perform this service, and many of the following suggestions will overlap:
1. We can turn a wanderer from the error of his way--bring back the one who has wandered from the Truth--by first making sure that WE ourselves are not going astray. We can keep ourselves spiritually fit:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

[NOTE: "I beat my body and make it my slave" does NOT mean that Paul literally beat his body. The word "beat" is used metaphorically to mean that Paul "kept under control" or "suppressed the sinful desires of" his body, in order to keep himself spiritually fit, so that he would not fall away, stray from, wander from THE FAITH, thus disqualifying himself for the eternal crown of life.]

2. We can keep ourselves grounded in THE FAITH so that we, ourselves, do not fall. (If every child of God DID this, there would be no wanderers.):

1 Corinthians 10:12: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"

2 Thessalonians 2:13-15: "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the Truth. He called you to this through our Gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter."

2 Timothy 2:15: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth."

2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Revelation 3:11-13: [Jesus said,] "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the Name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God; and I will also write on him My New Name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

3. We can edify one another (build up one another to promote spiritual growth):

Romans 14:19: "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."

Romans 15:1-4: "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please Himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on Me.' For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Read 1 Corinthians 14 and watch for the many times that the building up of each other--the church--is mentioned in all actions / deeds / services / uses of gifts from God.

4. We fulfill the debt to love one another in all that we do. The love God gave to us will not allow us to overlook a straying/wandering brother or sister in the Lord:

Romans 13:8-10: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,' ‘Do not murder,' ‘Do not steal,' ‘Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

1 Thessalonians 4:9: "Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other."

Hebrews 13:1: "Keep on loving each other as brothers."

1 Peter 1:22-23: "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the Truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God."

1 John 4:7 through 1 John 5:5: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His One and Only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like Him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, Whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

5. We "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ," (Ephesians 5:21).
6. We worship together in spirit and in Truth:

John 4:23-24: [Jesus said,] "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and Truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in Truth."

Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's Will is--His good, pleasing and perfect Will."

Ephesians 5:19-20: "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Hebrews 12:28-29: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.'"

7. We are to seek those who are lost, either because they have not come to God through Christ, or because they have wandered/strayed from the Truth. We bring them back to God, and we forgive, as God has forgiven us:

Matthew 18:15-17: [Jesus said,] "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

Matthew 18:21-22: "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'"

Read all of Luke, chapter 15.

Luke 17:1-4: "Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,' forgive him."

Luke 19:10: [Jesus said,] "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

8. We are to pray for one another to receive strength, to be active in sharing our faith, for healing, for forgiveness, etc.:

Ephesians 6:18: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's Will for you in Christ Jesus."

Philemon 1:6-7: "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints."

James 5:13-16: "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

1 Peter 4:7-8: "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

1 John 5:16-17: "If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death."

Jude 1:20-25: "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the Only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."