James concluded this section and his entire epistle by explaining how a brother who had erred could return to fellowship with God and could resume living by faith. These instructions apply directly to what James just explained in chapter 5. However they also show the way back to any who may have stumbled in the other errors James dealt with in this book.
5:19 This verse also ties in with what James just said about the privilege and duty of prayer. Any believer, not just the elders, can help a brother back into the right way (v. 14; cf. Ezek. 33:1-9).
5:20 The soul saved from death is that of the backslider to whom also belongs the multitude of sins. We should probably understand the "soul"to represent the whole person here as well as elsewhere in James' epistle (cf. 1:21).227Death represents the temporal destruction of the person, not his or her eternal damnation (cf. 1 Cor. 15:30; 1 John 5:16). The repentance of the reclaimed sinning believer results in the forgiveness (covering) of his or her sins. This description of forgiveness harks back to Old Testament usage where the biblical writers described sin as covered when forgiven. Such usage was understandable for James who was a Jewish believer writing to other Jews primarily (1:1; cf. Matt. 7:1-5; Gal. 6:1-5). His description does not contradict other New Testament revelation concerning forgiveness.
This epistle deals with five practical problems that every believer, immature or mature, encounters as he or she seeks to live by faith and the issues underlying these problems. As a skillful physician, James not only identified the problems. He also uncovered their sources, pointed out complicating factors, and prescribed treatment to overcome them with a view to his readers' becoming more mature spiritually. The problems and James' method of dealing with them account for the popularity of this epistle throughout church history and for its perennial value in ministry. If you preach and teach this book faithfully you can count on people getting immediate help from it.
